Davy Knowles

A LAP AROUND THE WORLD!

Posted Nov 10, 2009 by Davy

Hi there ladies and gentlemen - it’s been a little while since I’ve posted some things up here - but there is a lot to catch up on!

This has been a remarkable few months. We finished the Chickenfoot run at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles at the end of September, and what an amazing tour it was.  Jamming with them on ‘Bad Motor Scooter’ was one of the most amazing moments in my career (also one of the most terrifying!).  I really want to thank Sammy, Joe, Mike and Chad, as well as all of their crew for being so kind and supportive of us.  Just one of the best tours ever!

Next, after a couple days off, and watching an awesome Pearl Jam show,  we travelled to Baltimore, Maryland to play for the John Hopkins One Cause event, hosted by Paul Reed Smith guitars.  Watching Johnny Hiland play guitar just flat out made me want to give up! It was a great night, and wonderful to see the folks at PRS again - they are a wonderful company, just amazing to work with and they build just the finest instruments I have come across.  There has been call from a good few people to bring the Strat back…  Lots of reasons why I am happier now, but mainly the PRS’s feel better, sound better and are way more dependable. Sorry!! Anyways - we had Paul Smith come and jam with us again - not only is he a wonderful guitar builder, but a fine, fine player himself.  Top bloke too! His impersonation of my accent is pretty crap though. My impersonation of his accent is perhaps worse.

Next day we started our ‘World Tour’ and flew to London. It actually felt pretty strange for me to be back in Britain, after being in the States for nearly 2 years straight.  This time it was PK, Steven and Ty who would have the funny accents. After a bit of a panic with the backline equipment not showing up, we finally got situated at the Borderline club on Tottenham Court Road.  Last time I played London I paid money to sit in on an open mic night when I was 18! Gig was fantastic, and it was such a relief to see the place packed out. All was well until my amp fizzled out spectacularly and left the set one song short from the end to join amp heaven.  A moments silence please…  We spent a couple extra days in London doing press type things. I was just eager to get back to the Isle of Man!

Wow - it had just been way too long since I had been home! Amazing to be back, and glad to see it was still the beautiful place I had grown up on. Very excited to see my family and friends.  I felt really nervous about the Gaiety Theatre Gig. Tickets had all gone, and I really did feel a pressure to put on a show that was a culmination of all I’d learned since I’d been away. Some of the audience had been there when I’d played some of my first gigs, and had seen me growing up on the Island - which made the whole experience so much more terrifying for me! I wanted to do them proud. After all, without their support I would never be doing what I am now. After a long sound check, and some reuniting with some old friends it was time for the show. Strengyn opened up and were absolutely fantastic.  Then it was our turn.  I walked out on stage and nearly burst out crying, it was a tremendous homecoming for me, and very emotional.  Although we had a few problems with monitors, it was a wonderful gig, and one I will remember for a long time. Singing ‘Roll Away’ with the Ballacottier school choir nearly made me blub for the second time on stage.

After an all too brief visit back to the Island, it was off to the next leg of our tour, Australia. I had never been before, and was excited to check it out. I was not excited about the long flights however.  1st gig was in Perth, it was blisteringly hot,  but our first Australian gig went great! Perth is a beautiful city, and a couple of my friends from school had moved out there, so it was great to spend a couple days there.  Next on to Melbourne.  I didn’t really get too much of a chance to check it out here - I had a bit of jet lag/laziness and ended up sleeping most of the day here. Oops… Our promoter was wonderful and took good care of us. Had a fun little intimate gig, and got to meet our first opener, Joe Robinson. He is just unbelievable - great guitar player.  The last stop of this tour was Sydney. I was excited about Sydney, having heard so much about it.  What a beautiful city! Had a great few days there, and a wonderful last show!  We had a special VIP tour of the zoo there before we left - it was brilliant, lots of cool and weird animals.  After that it was off to the airport and into an argument between Ty and I and the airline ticket taker at the gate who wanted to rob us of our instruments (we won) and then onto a flight for 14 hours to Los Angeles. A complete lap of the world!! A massive thank you to all who helped us on the tour, and all who showed up at the gigs! Had a wonderful time, and using my time off to write up some new songs and go on holiday for a week to Mexico!

Looking forward to seeing you out on the next tour!

Davy

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